An Evening with Third Court of Appeals

Posted on March 30, 2011 by D. Todd Smith

The Austin Bar Association Civil Appellate Law Section is sponsoring a reception entitled “An Evening with the Third Court of Appeals” on Thursday, April 28, 2011, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Green Pastures, 811 West Live Oak Street.  Admission is $25 with a paid RSVP and $30 at the door.

Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served.  Information on how to RSVP is available here.

The purpose of this reception is to honor the Third Court justices and staff.  The Section also will be honoring former Justice Alan Waldrop for his service on the Court.  As the Section's chair-elect, I will be moderating the event.

Speaking of the Third Court,  the HBA Appellate Lawyer recently published a nice feature on Chief Justice Woodie Jones (pictured).  Now two years into his term, the Chief has delivered on his campaign promise to make the Court more efficient and reduce docket backlog.

We hope you will join us on April 28 to thank the Chief and others for their efforts.

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Texas Appellate E-Filing Goes Live

Posted on March 28, 2011 by D. Todd Smith

Here is the text of an e-mail I received from SCOTX Clerk Blake Hawthorne this morning, along with links he included in the message:

Effective March 28, 2011, you may electronically file documents, pay your fees, and serve opposing counsel using the Texas.gov electronic filing system. To use the electronic filing system you must first choose an electronic filing service provider and register. Please remember to send two paper copies of your filing to the Court when you use the electronic filing system.

If you choose to file using the traditional paper filing method, you must still e-mail electronic copies of petitions, responses, replies, briefs on the merits, amicus briefs, post-submission briefs, motions for rehearing, and emergency motions to the Clerk of the Court on the same day that the paper copies are filed. The electronic copies must be e-mailed to scebriefs@txcourts.gov.

For more details, see the Electronic Copy and Electronic Filing Rules for the Supreme Court of Texas. For more information about creating electronic briefs, please read this Guide to Creating Better Electronic Briefs. You can also watch a video that shows step-by-step instructions for using Adobe Acrobat to create an electronic brief.

For background, see my three previous posts.

The First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals have gone live as well, with others to follow throughout the year.

I filed a reply in the Texas Supreme Court late last week and would like to have taken advantage of the new system.  I expect to file another brief there fairly soon and will report on the experience afterward.  If Tex.gov has fixed the bugs and the system works like trial-court e-filing does now, it should go smoothly.

5/9/11 Update:  The Third Court of Appeals is accepting e-filing as of today.  According to its website, e-filing is now the "preferred method for filing" in the Third Court.

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E-Filing Rollout Rescheduled for March 28

Posted on March 18, 2011 by D. Todd Smith

So say the programming people, according to TexParte.  See my last two posts for more information.

That should give us plenty of time to try the system out before I speak on appellate e-filing at the 2011 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in San Antonio in late June.  The State Bar has invited me back, this time as a presenter.  It should be another great program.

Meanwhile, if you're going to be in Austin on March 31, make plans to attend the Austin Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Section's annual Half-Day CLE.  I will be participating in a panel discussion entitled "Improve Your Business Model:  Practice Tips for Running Your Practice More Efficiently and Profitably."  More information about the program and registration information is available here.

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E-Filing Launch Delayed

Posted on March 8, 2011 by D. Todd Smith

Texas.gov has pushed back the previously announced March 14, 2011 launch for Texas appellate e-filing, according to Texas Supreme Court Clerk Blake Hawthorne.  In the process of addressing performance issues in Harris County, technical problems have arisen regarding electronic payments.  A new roll-out date has yet to be announced.

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At Last, E-Filing Is Coming to Texas Appellate Courts

Posted on March 3, 2011 by D. Todd Smith

Four years ago, I first asked when appellate courts would catch up on e-filing.  Since then, the Fifth Circuit has successfully implemented an e-filing program, which has been mandatory for almost a year now.  In state appellate courts, however, the process has been painfully slow.

The Texas Supreme Court took a giant step in the right direction this week by releasing amendments to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure that expressly allow the Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, and the intermediate courts of appeals to "permit[] or require[] [documents] to be filed, signed, or verified by electronic means . . . ."  Amended TRAPs 9.2 and 9.3 are open to public comment through May 31, 2011 and, with any modifications, will take effect June 30, 2011.

The amending order promulgated templates for local rules governing electronic copies and electronic filings in the courts of appeals.  These templates mirror e-copy and e-filing rules the Supreme Court adopted by separate order, which take effect March 14, 2011.  The second order supersedes the Supreme Court's current e-copy practices, but retains features that have become familiar to those who routinely file documents with the Court.

The e-filing rules represent the most significant change.  Through the Texas.gov portal familiar to many trial-court practitioners, parties will be able to submit PDF documents to the Supreme Court and other registered users for filing and service.  This functionality was supposed to be wrapped up in the Texas Appeals Management and E-Filing System (TAMES) project, but the TAMES rollout dates have been pushed back repeatedly.  Apparently unwilling to wait any longer, the Supreme Court has effectively separated e-filing from TAMES.  With the local-rule templates, the Court has laid the groundwork for e-filing in other appellate courts as well.

Unlike the Fifth Circuit, the Texas Supreme Court's e-filing program is voluntary.  Like the Fifth Circuit, paper copies are still required.  The day is coming when submissions to appellate courts will be electronic only.  It's just not here yet.

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